How do they work?
Both are used by torrent clients to fetch files for users.
A torrent establishes a connection between a users torrent client and a web server somewhere.
The file in question is retrieved from the webserver and made available to the user.
The extension for torrent files is .torrent thus the name.
As the name implies, these files take up space and have to be stored somewhere.
Specifically, somewhere thats accessible by everyone at all times.
This isnt exactly always convenient not as convenient as a magnet link.
What about magnet links?
Magnet links also acquire a file but in a different way.
The links connect users to anyone who has the file available for download.
